The Perfect Shade of Red
by Sidera Mori 4
Summary: All his life Lukas thought he would be alone forever and he accepted that, but what will happen after Lukas meets a weird boy named Matthias who just moved to town? Will Lukas be wrong? DenNor Human AU that's probably good. Beta-ed by OldGregg55
1. Chapter 1

Prologue~

In Lukas's mind, he never had a mother. Sure, he had a mother figure, but she wasn't his biological mother. At first, Sinthia was just his father's girlfriend, but she was nice. Whenever she came over, she would bring him some kind of gift and play games with him. She carried him in her arms and ran her fingers through his hair, just like any mother would. During those years, Lukas was very happy. It was almost as if he had a real mother.

Almost.

His father was never around very much. Sometimes he wouldn't come home until late at night because he was so busy with his job. Lukas didn't mind that much because his father claimed to be "married to his work." That's why he was surprised to hear that him and Sinthia were getting married. He still remembered the conversation he had with his father, word for word, despite the fact that this happened twelve years ago.

"But, Daddy, I thought you were married to your work?" he said. He remembered how confused and childish his voice sounded.

His father bent down to his height and placed a hand on his shoulder. "In a way, I am. But this is different. You see, I love her so much that I want to be with her for the rest of my life." While his father said this, he looked to his fiance and smiled.

"Does that mean you didn't love my real mom?" he asked. His father's smile fell and he turned to look into his son's ruby eyes. Lukas could see that his father's eyes were full of sorrow, like he was struggling to say something. Finally he broke eye contact and stood up.

"Lukas, I think it's time for you to go to bed."

Lukas expected this to happen. Every time he mentioned his biological mother to his father, he would would always change the subject. He didn't understand why, but he did understand that his father would always become upset when he brought it up. So he tried his best to avoid it and not let his curiosity get the best of him.

The wedding was fantastic. There was a big ceremony with lots of people and a giant cake that was taller than him! He even got to be the ring bearer! A few days later his father and Sinthia sat him down and told him that they were having a baby. His father asked him how he would feel about having another child in the house. Lukas was obviously excited. How could he not be excited about getting a new brother or sister?

Several months later, Sinthia gave birth to a little boy who they named Emil. Lukas loved him, even if he was only his half brother. But something in Sinthia changed after Emil was born. She no longer ran her fingers through his hair or played games with him. She was no longer kind, loving and gentle but instead she was rough and hateful. Lukas couldn't exactly pin point when it all started, or even remember all the pain that Sinthia caused him. And part of him didn't want to remember. All he knew was that somewhere along the line she started hitting him, and only him.

Sinthia never laid a finger on Emil, and Lukas knew why. Emil was her real son and she loved him more. Now that she was married and had a son of her own, she didn't need Lukas anymore. He wondered if she ever really loved him or if it was all just a facade.

Lukas scoffed to himself and shook his head to chase his thoughts away. He shouldn't be thinking about that. He was sixteen now, he didn't need to dwell on useless feelings. No, his emotions weren't important. As long as Emil was safe, it didn't matter what happened to him.

Lukas walked in the front door with a bag in his hand and headed up stairs towards his room, trying to ignore the heated conversation between his father and Sinthia about how his father keeps buying alcohol with his money instead of doing something useful with it. Lukas entered his and Emil's shared bedroom and saw Emil sitting on his bed quietly reading his book. Lukas put the bag on his bed and took out the contacts he bought. He made his way into the bathroom that the whole family shared, opened the box and proceeded to put one on his finger. Lukas opened his eye as wide as he could, trying not to flinch when he put them in. It took several attempts until he successfully got both contacts in. Lukas looked up in the mirror satisfied to see that he no longer had those red eyes that he hated. Instead, they were a nice teal-blue. He walked out of the bathroom and into his/Emil's bedroom.

"Do you like them?" Lukas asked Emil who looked up from his book.

"They're nice." Emil said honestly. "They look like mine only darker."

Emil wasn't sure why, but Lukas had always had a strange hatred for his red eyes. He wasn't sure if Lukas even knew why he didn't like his eyes. Emil never saw anything wrong with his beautiful ruby eyes, but Lukas always did. If it was the pure fact that they were red or if it was some deeper, underlying issue, he didn't know. But he was respective of his choice to change them so he didn't object and tried to be supportive. It was the most he could do for his brother.

"Yeah, they are." Lukas said, with just the faintest hint of happiness in his voice.

* * *

A/N: No, Lukas is not a demon/vampire/ any sort of super nature being. He just has red eyes. This is my first fanfiction so I'm sorry if it's terrible. Be ready for Matthias to show in the next chapter! Please review and tell me how you liked this!


	2. Chapter 2

Lukas's eyes snapped open when he heard his alarm clock blaring near his head. He quickly turned it off and ran a hand through his messy blonde hair, taking a moment to compose his thoughts. Groggily, he glanced at the other bed across the room. He noticed that it was empty and already made. _Emil must be uo_ , he thought. Lukas pushed himself up and out of bed and pulled together and outfit for the day (a pair of jeans and a blue plaid shirt), along with the small container that held his contacts.

He quietly made his way out of his bedroom and to the bathroom. He shut the door behind him and turned to look in the mirror at his reflection. Yep, his hair was definitely in desperate need of brushing. And he needed to get the awful taste of morning breath out of his mouth. But the thing that bothered him most was his eyes. He quickly put in the contacts to hide that horrible shade of red. Now satisfied with the color, he went to work with his regular morning schedule.

Lukas descended the stairs to find his little brother, Emil, sitting at the table eating a bowl of cereal and absently clicking away at his phone. Emil looked up when he heard Lukas approaching and smiled.

"Good morning, Lukas." he said in his usual bright and cheery tone. Lukas only nodded in acknowledgement as he walked past him into the kitchen. His big brother wasn't much of a talker so he continued eating, his smile still plastered to his face.

Lukas quietly made himself a piece of toast and sat next to Emil to eat. They ate in relative silence until Emil finished his breakfast and stood to put his bowl in the sink. Lukas watched Emil from the corner of his eye as he walked toward the door and picked up his backpack.

"I'm leaving now, okay?" Emil said as he turned toward him. Lukas lifted his fingers from around his toast as a sort of wave of farewell and Emil left. Emil always rose before he did because he preferred to walk to school with a weird boy named Peter Kirkland. It didn't bother Lukas at all that his little brother would rather walk with someone else than him. As long as Emil was happy, then so was he.

After breakfast, he gathered his own things and headed outside. He immediately felt the cold air kiss his cheeks and shivered. He decided to ignore the cold weather and began walking to the bus stop, ready to start another lousy day.

* * *

Matthias woke up at 5:00 am exactly this morning. I mean, how could he not?! He was going to start his first day at his new high school today! He had already gotten dressed, wearing a pair of black skinny jeans and a plain red T-shirt, now he just needed to fix his hair.

He stood in front of the mirror admiring his face. He was pretty handsome if he did say so himself, with his pearly white teeth and dazzling blue eyes. He was tempted to kiss his reflection, but decided against it and instead grabbed his hair gel to style his hair. _I'm going to need more gel_ , he thought to himself as he ran his fingers through his short blonde locks, spiking it up in an odd, gravity defying way.

Once his hair was perfectly awesome, he went downstairs into the kitchen and made himself a strawberry poptart. While he leaned against the counter eating his delicious breakfast, he thought about what he should do today. He was definitely going to take a look around his new school, get to know the area a little better and make some new friends. But what should he do before that? After all, he had woken up early, so he had a lot of time to waste.

Then it hit him. He should take the bus to school! He was originally going to drive himself there, but it would be much more fun to do something out of the ordinary. With a new goal set in mind, he finished off his poptart and grabbed all his stuff to head out the door.

He had to wear about three jackets to fight the cold. America was so much warmer than it was here but a little cold weather wasn't gonna stop him! He pulled out his phone and Googled the nearest bus stop that would take him to his school. Once he found one, he grabbed his skateboard and took off in that direction.

The trip was pretty uneventful, aside from a few people giving him weird looks. He was used to it, though. People in America gave him worse looks (probably because he was always smiling like a mad man).

Once the bust stop came into view, he did one last sick kickflip with his board and made his way to it. As he approached, he noticed there was already a boy sitting on the bench. He looked about Matthias's age, with blonde hair that was trimmed just above his ear that was clipped back with a silver cross pin. His pale skin contrasted against his dark blue coat. The thing that stood out most to Matthias, was the curl in the boy's hair that seemed to defy gravity, just like his hair _._

 _He'll make an excellent friend_ , Matthias thought to himself as he jogged to the bench with a ridiculous smile on his face. He leaned his skateboard next to the bench and sat down. He smiled to the other boy, hoping he would notice his presence, but he seemed distracted. He was just sitting there staring off into the distance. Strange. But that was no problem! He would just strike up a conversation to get the boy's attention.

"Hey, my name's Matthias! What's your's?"

Lukas flinched slightly at the loud voice he hadn't realized was right next to him. No one ever came to the bus stop this early except for him, so he never expected anyone to show up. He turned to look at the grinning stranger who was dressed a bit odd. He looked close to his age, but he had never seen him before. He wasn't very social and didn't pay much attention to who was around him (besides Emil) so it made sense he wouldn't recognize him. He had no idea why this person was talking to him. He didn't even know what the person said or if he wanted a response. With the way he was smiling at him it was likely he did, though Lukas really didn't want to engage in conversation with someone he didn't know. On the assumption that the person had said something generic like 'good morning' he pressed his lips together and gave a slight nod of his head before turning away.

Matthias thought this kid was a little weird. He had practically glared at him with his icy blue eyes, though he couldn't imagine why. Matthias was friendly, he wouldn't bite! He tried not to let his smile falter as the boy's eyes scanned over him quickly. It was very slight, but the other's expression softened a bit and that was enough for Matthias to continue his quest of befriending him! He completely ignored his question though, and only nodded his head, but that was okay. He was probably just trying to play 'cool and mysterious' and was probably a popular guy at his school. That only made Matthias want to push further.

"That's cool." he replied, although he realized that might not have been the best response. The boy didn't seem to notice as the bus pulled up right as the words left Matthias's mouth.

Lukas was glad when the bus finally pulled up so he could get away from the guy who was still talking to him for some reason. The other boy stood up, too, and Lukas vaguely noticed that the guy was taller than him, but the thought quickly left his mind as he got onto the bus and moved to his usual spot in the very back.

Matthias followed the other boy who had taken his seat and began staring off into space again. Matthias wasn't going to give up that easy! He sat next to him again with another big smile and thought for a moment before speaking.

"Hey."

Curious about what this boy could possibly want from him now, Lukas glanced over to him with his usual neutral expression.

As soon as those dark blue eyes landed on Matthias, he felt a shiver go down his spine. "What's your name?" he continued.

Lukas let out an annoyed sigh. What the hell as with this guy? It was like he couldn't take a hint. He obviously wasn't going to get any sort of peace from this person, so he might as well comply with what he wanted. "Lukas."

Matthias noticed that the boy, Lukas, spoke completely monotone but with a thick Norwegian accent. It was odd considering he lived in Canada, but he himself had a Danish accent so it didn't seem too unusual. But he finally learned his name! They were one step closer to friendship, now it was time for Matthias to build up on it.

"I'm Matthias, as I told you earlier-" Lukas realized this must've been what this guy (Matthias, apparently) had said to him before. "-and my birthday is December 19th. My favorite flavor of ice cream is chocolate and my favorite colors are red and black."

 _What is this guy doing?_ Lukas thought. He was being really weird. If he wanted to give out random information about himself to strangers, then that was his business, but Lukas would have no part in it. He decided instead to pull out his phone and see if Emil has texted him yet to say he got too school safely. As soon as he opened his contacts, his phone was yanked out of his hand by Matthias.

"Great idea, Lukas! Let's exchange numbers!" Matthias said enthusiastically while he started putting his number into his new friend's phone.

Lukas sat there gaping with wide eyes. He was too stunned to grab his phone back so he allowed Matthias to continue what he was doing, but on the inside he was furious. What kind of person takes someone's phone without permission to exchange numbers?! The bus squealed to a stop and Lukas wasted no time standing up, grabbing his bag and seizing his phone back from the crazy blonde. He hastily made his way off the bus without another word, leaving Matthias sitting alone.

"See you later!" Matthias called after him. He wasn't sure if Lukas heard him since he had left so fast, but it didn't matter. He would be able to talk to him later.

* * *

Lukas tried his very best to ignore the vibrating in his pocket, but it was extremely difficult. Just when it would stop and he would go back to concentrating on his work, it would go off again. To avoid getting more suspicious glares from his teachers, he turned off his phone. It was probably one of the best ideas he's ever had. He was finally allowed some peace and was able to get his work done.

When the bell rang for lunch, he decided to see who was texting him and why. He had a feeling he knew who it was, but it was better to check to be sure. He stood against a wall away from other students and pulled out his phone, keeping it mostly concealed with his blue coat. He turned his phone back on and scrolled through the very few contacts he had. There weren't any messages from his father or Emil, so it only had to be he person he was dreading it was. He frowned and clicked the contact titled "Matthias" with a bunch of firework emojis next to it. There were tons of messages.

 **Matthias: Hey what are you doing right now?**

 **Matthias: Wanna be friends?**

 **Matthias: Do you wanna hand out sometime?**

 **Matthias: I heard there was a really cool skate park around here! We should go together!**

 **Matthias: :)**

 **Matthias: Why won't you answeeeeeerrrrrrr meeeeeeee?**

 **Matthias: Oh, are you in class?**

 **Matthias: Where you do you live?**

Lukas stared a his phone. This guy really didn't know how to take a hint!

 **Lukas: Stop texting this number.**

 **Matthias: Ah, so you've finally replied.**

 **Matthias: I'm not going to stop until you like me, friendo**

 **Lukas: There is something seriously wrong with you**

Lukas just wanted to get that last message sent before he deleted the number and turned his phone back off. He didn't have time for that strange kid, nor did he want to get involved with him. Lukas wasn't joking when he said that there was seriously something wrong with him. At first he was a little worried about being mean to a (what he assumed to be) clinically insane person but after he asked 'where do you live' he just didn't care anymore. He had other things to worry about.

He shoved his phone back in his pocket and headed off to class.

He attended all his other classes but he couldn't really focus. His mind kept drifting off to his brother and Sinthia. God, he really didn't want to go home, not after what happened last night. And he knew today it would be worse.

The last bell rang and school was finally over. Lukas got up from his seat, packed up all his stuff and left the school, avoiding all the other students that were piling out of their classrooms. Out of fear of running into that lunatic again on the bus, he opted to walk home instead. It didn't even occur to him that it would take longer to get home. His mind was elsewhere.

He kept a steady pace as his eye darted everywhere to his surroundings. Today was like any other day it would be in Norway. Cold, despite the sun that was out and the very little clouds in the sky. Lukas walked passed the familiar houses that were on his street and at one he got a little wet because the sprinklers were on and he hadn't noticed how close he was. He was so distracted and he knew why.

Lukas reached the white and light blue house and stopped. To anyone else, this would seem like a very beautiful house, with its many rose bushes dotting the front yard and climbing roses that led up the front of the house to his bedroom window. He stood there for a minute just staring at the house. He knew he had to go in but he wanted to stall from just a few more minutes. It would no doubt be a long night for him and he wanted too put it off for as long as possible. Already his body was betraying him and he could feel his hands tremble. He needed to keep up his neutral appearance. He took a deep breath to calm himself down. Finally, brought together his courage and walked inside.

He opened the door and and walked in. He saw Sinthia get up from where she was sitting and slam her paperback book on the coffee table in front of her. The look on her face made him freeze but he refused to show any emotion.

"You were suppose to be here at 4:30, not 5:16!" she yelled.

The littlest things often made Sinthia angry. Ever since Emil was born she had become a control freak, and he was the one she targeted. Lukas knew he would have new brusies to cover up tomorrow.

* * *

Matthias was disappointed that he wasn't able to see his new friend at the bus after school. He hoped he would get a chance to ask what the last text message he sent meant.

 _I mean, why would he think something's wrong with me?_ he thought to himself as he watched the moving scenery fly past him. When the bus stopped at the bus stop he had been at this morning, he got off and began to skate back home in the cold weather. He looked around at the neighborhood he was in, admiring all the houses. It was a nice neighborhood with nice front yards and a good environment for small children to play in. He came to a stop with on foot on the ground and the other on his board when he was in front of a house he particularly liked.

It was a light blue house with a white door and white trimming around the windows. it had two stories with a dark brown roof. His favorite thing about the house were the rose bushes that climbed their way up the house to the windows. To his left was a white mail box that had "Bondevik" written in bold black letters. Matthias assumed Bondevik was the family's last name. He smiled and wondered for a moment what kind of family lived there.

Matthias stopped staring after a few minutes because he didn't want to be seen and have the people in that neighborhood think he was a creep. He pushed himself away with his foot and was speeding down the sidewalk again.

When he finally got to his own house, he walked in and locked it. He looked around at his empty home and sighed. He needed something to do to keep himself from being bored, but he didn't feel like doing anything. He didn't want to eat or sleep and he definitely didn't want to do his homework. He went upstairs to his bedroom and flopped down on his bed. There was so much he had wanted to do today but now all that sounded boring.

His thoughts slowly drifted to Lukas, the boy he met at the bus stop this morning. Man, he was glad he decided to go there today. He really wanted to talk to him. Even though he acted emotionless, his dark blue eyes were filled with sadness and Matthias wanted to find out why.

He furrowed his brow and frowned. So far Lukas didn't really seem to like him. That meant he would need to build some trust with him so he would open up a bit. He decided his new goal would be to text Lukas as often as possible until the two of them became friends. 

* * *

A/N: Sorry this was updated at 11:30 but hey it's not 12:00 yet so technically it's still Monday! Please follow and review! See you next week!


	3. Chapter 3

Lukas laid in bed under his thin but comfortable blanket. There was a soft, white light seeping in through the window above his bed and he could hear Emil's steady breathing from the other side of the room. He was exhausted from today, having to deal with Sinthia and all her rage at him for coming home late. At least that was all over for the time being and he could get some rest.

He had just snuggled his head into his pillow when his phone vibrated on his nightstand. He huffed and rolled over to grab his phone. While he is mildly annoyed at being bothered, he couldn't help but be a little worried. The only person that could be texting him at this hour is his dad, and his dad only tried to contact him if there was a emergency. He unlocked his phone, squinting against the brightness of the screen and opened his messages. He's surprised (as well as relieved) to see that it's not his dad, but an unknown number. He wondered briefly who it could be.

 **Unknown: Hey, why weren't you on the bus today?**

Lukas frowned, remembering exactly who it was. He ran a hand over his eyes before typing his reply.

 **Lukas: I'll say this one more time, stop texting me.**

He turned his phone off again and slammed it back on the nightstand. He heard Emil shift in his bed and he froze, afraid he had woken his little brother. Emil made a soft noise but didn't wake up. Lukas sighed in relief before turning to lay on his side and fall into a deep sleep.

* * *

 _"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. Please... just don't leave me. I'm so sorry I let this happen to you."_

 _Lukas didn't know who was talking but the voice was so familiar. It sounded like the person was crying. He tried to look toward the person that was crying, everything was too hazy. He couldn't even see where he was or what was happening. All he could make out was a silhouette of a person sitting in a chair next to a bed, but nothing else._

* * *

Lukas woke up in a cold sweat, like he had just had a nightmare. It took him a moment to realize it was just a dream. The same dream he's had for years and hardly something he should worry about. Slowly, he sat up and checked his alarm clock for the time. It read 3:24a.m. Despite only having gotten a few hours of sleep, he felt fully rested. In fact, now that he had calmed down from his dream, he felt great. Well, except for a few sore bruises that covered his body, but he chose to ignore those.

He knew he wouldn't be able to fall back asleep and he didn't want to wake Emil, so instead he grabbed his phone. He could probably read some of his eBooks for a few hours until he had to get up for school. When his phone turned on, he noticed he had a lot of messages. He sighed quietly, knowing it was Matthias again. He really should just ignore them and forget the guy ever existed, but he clicked the mail icon to read the messages anyway. He might as well see what was so important.

 **Unknown: Why don't you like me? Everybody likes me!**

 **Unknown: Well even if you don't like me that doesn't stop me from liking you!**

 **Unknown: Do you want to hang out tomorrow?**

 **Unknown: I could pick you up from school if you want.**

 **Unknown: We can go to that skate park that I told you about!**

 **Unknown: I'm just going to guess that you're asleep so good night!**

These had all been sent hours ago, it would be no use to send him a message now saying to leave him alone. Not that it would do any good. He was sure he was just going to continue getting harassed by this guy. Maybe if he ignored him long enough he would forget about him and stop trying to be his friend, or whatever nonsense he said. He pushed Matthias out of his mind and settled down to read.

* * *

Matthias's eyes slowly opened when he heard the sick tunes of his alarm clock. He smiled and laid there a moment to listen to the awesome rock music. He always set his favorite song as his alarm sound so he could wake up in a good mood. When the song ended, he turned off the alarm and jumped out of bed to start the day.

He began by changing into his uniform that he would actually have to wear today, since his principal had scolded him yesterday for not wearing it. The uniform consisted of: a white dress shirt, beige sweater vest, blue jacket, blue plaid pants and a black tie to top it all off. It was incredibly uncomfortable and he hated the way he looked. But the principal said he had to wear it or he would be suspended during the first week of his new school. He couldn't risk something like that, so he had to wear this lame uniform. Luckily, there were no rules about spiking your hair, so he went to his bathroom to do just that.

When he was done getting ready, he went downstairs to make himself breakfast. Today he would have a cherry poptart. While he was eating he contemplated whether he should drive to school or not. While driving was a lot more convenient than taking the bus, he really wanted to see Lukas again. Scratch that, he needed to see Lukas again so they could become friends! Yeah, he needed to continue taking the bus no matter how awful it was so he could get Lukas to like him.

He didn't know why he wanted Lukas to like him so much. There were plenty of people at his new school that liked him. There were even a few cute girls that already had crushes on him! But Lukas was different. There was something about him that intrigued Matthias and he wanted to get the boy to open up to him.

Matthias finished his breakfast, wiped his hands and grabbed his things to leave. He got on his skateboard and headed in the direction of the bus stop, just like he had the day before.

As Matthias rounded the corner to the street the bus stop was on, he was excited to see Lukas already there, doing something on his phone. He had been afraid that Lukas might try to avoid a confrontation with him by taking another bus, but there he was! Matthias quickly skated over to him and sat on the bench. He didn't acknowledge him, just like yesterday, so Matthias stayed silent for a moment.

"Hey." He said finally. Lukas said nothing and continued staring at his phone. He wasn't doing anything important, just playing a dumb game Emil had introduced him to, but anything was better than talking to him. However, Matthias had other plans and continued to pursue him.

"So... Do you always use this bus?" he said, trying to make conversation about the one thing they had in common so far.

"Sure." Lukas said absently, not really paying attention.

"I texted you last night." Matthias said. Lukas had never replied to him, though he obviously had his phone so he should've seen them by now. He waited for Lukas to respond, but he just sat there playing what looked like a game about cats. Matthias felt a little hurt about being ignored so much. "Why didn't you text back?"

"Busy." the Norwegian said stiffly, refusing to turn his way. Matthias was about to respond when the bus pulled up and Lukas stood to enter it quickly. He kept his eyes trained on his phone and sat at the very back like yesterday. Matthias hastily gathered up his board and backpack and followed Lukas.

Lukas was more than annoyed when the taller boy sat next to him and thought about moving seats to get away from him, but surprisingly, the entire trip was silent. Mostly because Matthias was stunned and didn't know what to say. The people he talked to actually knew how to hold a conversation, but Lukas insisted on being the rudest person on the planet! Did he treat all of his friends this way or was Matthias just a special exception? Matthias sighed and sat back dejectedly against the seat and waited until the bus stopped and let Lukas off the bus.

* * *

School for Lukas was better than the day before. There were no text message interruptions and he was able to complete all his work. After all, his work had to be perfect if he didn't want to face any more of Sinthia's wrath. But he didn't want to think about that right now. Instead, he exited the school, pushing his way past crowds to people to get to the bus waiting outside.

He made his way to the very back of the bus where he always sat, and tried to ignore the greeting he received white passing the one boy he would say he hated the most right now. He didn't even stop to see what Matthias's reaction was. He just plopped down on the seat and opened up a book so he could read. Matthias stayed in his seat, but Lukas saw him glancing back to him every few minutes, as if Lukas was about to do something amazing and he didn't want to miss it. He was mostly able to ignore the other boy, though, and before he knew it the bus arrived at Emil's school.

For once, since the first time he met him, Matthias had actually done something that pleased him. He got off the bus and made his way through the school to find Emil, feeling in a much better mood than before. He was confident that today would be a better day than before. It was short-lived, however, when he suddenly noticed a pair of footsteps behind him. And stopped to turn around, and had to do a double-take when he saw who was there.

"Are you stalking me?" he said, sounding a bit alarmed.

"I, um... I-I like to call it emotional support." Matthias gave a nervous laugh and scratched the back of his neck. He wasn't expecting Lukas to to react like that.

 _Emotional support? Why would I need emotional support when I'm just picking up Emil?_ Lukas thought to himself, irritated.

"Why would I want emotional support especially from someone like you?" Lukas didn't wait for an answer and instead spun on his heel and marched down the hall. Matthias stood there a moment in shock before running to catch up with him.

"How come you're here?" he asked, easily keeping up with his long legs. Lukas was annoyed by the change in subject, but decided he would rather ask about it later if this guy didn't leave him alone.

"To pick up my brother." he answered hotly. "I'm surprised you didn't already know that, Stalker." he added quietly.

"Wow, you have a brother?" Matthias asked, completely oblivious to Lukas's obvious discomfort. He was too busy being amazed at the discovery of Lukas's brother. He always thought it was cool when people had siblings, since he didn't have any himself.

"That's what I just said." Lukas said with a huff and pushed open a door with "Library" written on the front. Matthias followed him inside and the two walked to the back and to a desk where a boy with short, silvery hair was intently reading a book about puffins. He was so engrossed in his book that he didn't even notice Lukas and Matthias as they approached him. "Emil, we need to go home."

That caused Emil to finally look up at his brother. His face kept the same calm expression as he blinked and carefully closed his book. "I thought you weren't coming today. I told you I was fine walking home by myself."

"We need to be home by 5:30 sharp and we still need to go shopping." Lukas ignored what Emil said. He wanted to get right to the point and avoid any sort of argument.

"Oh. Yeah, your-" Emil paused as his eyes went past Lukas to the boy behind him. He had never seen this stranger before, but he seemed to come with Lukas as if he knew him. "Who's that?"

"Don't worry, that's just a stalker." Lukas said folding his arms and flipping his hair out of his eyes. He said it so nonchalantly like this was completely normal.

"Hey, don't call me a stalker!" Matthias interjected, offended. Lukas didn't even acknowledge his presence. Emil looked between the two and furrowed his brow.

"What do you mean by stalker?" Emil asked confused. Matthias stepped in front of Lukas before he could answer his little brother.

"I'm not a stalker! I'm Lukas's friend, Matthias." He extended his hand and Emil hesitantly shook it.

"Right. I'm his brother, Emil." This boy seemed friendly enough, probably not the stalker his brother claimed him to be. He wondered why Lukas had never mentioned him before if they were friends.

"Don't encourage him." Lukas said flatly, and gestured for Emil to follow him out of the building. He was done with this whole conversation and hoped Matthias wouldn't follow them. Emil had to scramble to gather all his belongings and keep up with Lukas's fast pace, but Matthias was nice enough to help him. He hated when his brother got like this and he couldn't even begin to figure out what was on his mind. He was just so unreadable. Regardless, he thanked Matthias and the two of them trailed behind Lukas out of the library and off school grounds. They walked quietly, only the dull thud of their shoes hitting the pavement breaking the silence. Emil knew his brother didn't like talking and he was too preoccupied with the fact that Lukas had made a friend.

Lukas looked back and noticed that Matthias was unusually quiet. He hoped it stayed that way, he was a little more bearable that way. It was almost as if he really was a friend of his. He jerked his head forward and resisted the urge the slap himself in the face. There was no way he could ever think of Matthias as his friend. It was too absurd. He was just following them because he was a stalker and obsessed with Lukas, plain and simple.

Eventually they reached their destination; a small but convenient grocery store. Lukas immediately set to work, grabbing a basket and weaving through the aisles with purpose. He didn't ask for help from either of the other boys, so they were both left with each other. Matthias decided he would start a small conversation with Emil with nothing better to do.

"Hey, doesn't your mom do this kinda stuff?" he asked casually, shoving his hands in his pockets and absently following Lukas down another aisle.

Emil tensed and wondered how he should answer that. He looked toward Lukas, hoping he would offer a response, but he was too busy browsing the shelves, seemingly oblivious to their conversation. Emil sighed and decided lying would keep it simple and not arouse any suspicion. It seemed unlikely Lukas would've told his friend too much about their family life, and Emil didn't want to bring anything up without his brother's permission. "She's not feeling well, so we decided to help out."

"Oh, alright." Matthias nodded in understanding. "My mom always paid someone to do the shopping for her."

"Paid someone?" Emil asked confused.

"Yeah! Mom is always too busy to do it herself so she hired someone." he explained.

"Oh..." Emil trailed off, furrowing his brow. Lukas finished finding everything he needed and began heading towards the registers with Matthias and Emil at his heels. He was relieved that he had completed his task, but he wasn't looking forward to checking out. He never liked his part. Everyone seemed to have a hard time understanding him because of his thick accent, which made it difficult to communicate and unpleasant for all parties involved. He supposed he would just have to deal with it, though. Emil helped with unloading the basket while Matthias looked at all the candy as if he was a little kid.

It went pretty smoothly, this cashier not having too much difficulty understanding him. When it came time to pay he eagerly took out his wallet, thankful he would be getting out of here soon. His stomach dropped when he opened the wallet and saw a very vital thing missing from it.

"Emil, do you have Dad's credit card?" he leaned to his brother and asked in hushed Norwegian. He did his best to keep his voice even and not let his panic show. Emil narrowed his eyes and looked at Lukas.

"No, why would I?" he replied in the same language. Lukas's blood ran cold and he slowly stood back up.

"Shit, I must've forgot it at home." Lukas switched back to English. If he wasn't already getting weird looks, he definitely was now. With his usual poker face, he looked back at his wallet and hoped he had enough money to pay without a card. He frowned at the small amount of cash he had. It definitely wasn't enough to afford all of this. He inwardly panicked and tried to think of a plan. He couldn't return home with nothing, but he couldn't leave the store without paying. He was so stupid, forgetting something so important at home! Emil understood his brother's fears and started packing his own pockets for any sort of money he could help with.

Matthias watched all this unfold from his position in front of the candy. He didn't speak a lick of Norwegian but it didn't take him long to figure out that they had an issue with payment. His eyes lit up as an idea hit him. This was his chance to prove that he was a nice guy! He swiftly made his way over to them and pulled out his own wallet. "Don't worry, I totally got this!"

"Hey-!" Lukas protested as he was shoved out of the way by the taller boy. He watched in absolute horror as Matthias handed the cashier his own card and paid for everything. It gave him a twisted feeling in his stomach to know that he was so pathetic his stalker had to buy his groceries for him. He wanted nothing more than to crawl into a hole and never come out. Instead, he kept his stoic expression and as Emil thanked Matthias and helped carry the bags out of the store. This time, it was him who lagged a little behind, keeping his head down as they exited.

There were too many emotions flowing through him at once for him to comprehend. He was mortified and grateful at the same time. Matthias was able to get him out of a sticky situation that could've turned worse, but Matthias wasn't someone he had wanted help from. Swallowing his pride, he decided it would at least e polite to thank him. He grit his teeth and quickened his pace until he was next to Matthias.

"Thanks for paying." he stated, before adding, "I'll pay you back tomorrow."

"No problem. You don't have to pay me back, though, it was barely anything. Plus, we're friends. That what friends do for each other." Matthias said, grinning.

Lukas nearly choked on air. Don't pay him back? Did he think Lukas looked like some kind of charity case that wouldn't repay his own debts? He couldn't tell what was more infuriating, the fact that Matthias called them 'friends', the hideous grin on his face, or the fact that he had gotten himself in this situation. "No, I'm paying you back." he said firmly.

Matthias let out a boisterous laugh and Lukas had a hard time not punching him in the face. "Oh, Luky, just as stubborn as ever." Lukas grimaced at the nickname and Matthias's tone of voice. Again, he was acting like they were good friends. Surely this would be a good time to punch him? "How about this, if you go to arcade with me, we'll call it even."

Lukas frowned. The arcade? How would that settle things between them? It was a strange and cringe-worthy request, but if Lukas was able to do this then maybe Matthias would finally get out of his life for good. He thought about it and remembered that his dad would be home this weekend, so time out of the house seemed doable. "Fine." he said. "But it will have to be this weekend."

"Great!" Matthias flashed him another grin and Lukas nearly rolled his eyes. Instead, he looked down at his watch and for the second time today he panicked. It was almost the time he had to be home, and if he wasn't there on the dot there would be some kind of hell to pay. He turned to Emil and grabbed his wrist.

"We have to go, now." Emil was going to protest but he know he couldn't. Instead, the two of them broke into a run, leaving Matthias behind.

Matthias watched as they left, a bright smile still plastered to his face. After a moment, he decided to head home himself. There was a fluttering in his chest that was so powerful it felt like he could burst. He was so unbelievably happy and one thought kept running through his head.

This weekend was going to be the best!

* * *

A/N I'm so sorry this chapter was late I got really busy than my computer was taken away from me but hey I still got it! So can you guess what that dream meant? Or if it had any meaning at all? Please review! Thanks for reading!

Stars~


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